When a Hologram Loves a Woman
by A.l.u.t
Summary: When Michael Sullivan asks Janeway to marry him, she creates a holographic version of herself to be his wife. Katie O'Claire, however, has other ideas.


Summary: When Michael Sullivan asks Janeway to marry him, she creates a holographic version of herself to be his wife. Katie O'Claire has other ideas however.

Rating: T (for a small amount of violence and drunkeness)

Disclaimer: Voyager and its characters belong to Paramount Pictures. No infringement intended.

When a Hologram Loves a Woman

By: A.l.u.t.

Kathryn sat across from Michael Sullivan in his pub in Fair Haven. He had pulled out all the stops for their dinner this evening; candlelight, two courses instead of one, and clean silver. She was glad the food was holographic. The lamb stew had been excellent but had it been real, she knew it would be a rock in her stomach right now on top of the soda bread, whiskey prawns and dingle pasties.

"Would you like some dessert, Katie?" Michael asked.

"I don't think I could eat another bite," she said. "Can we save it for tomorrow?"

"Of course," he answered, smiling broadly. "Especially because that means you'll be coming back tomorrow."

"I was planning to, if that's alright with you."

"You know it is, Katie. Mind if I have a little dessert without you?"

"Be my guest."

Michael walked behind the bar and poured himself a measure of whiskey. He sat back down and stared quietly at her.

"It's been nice, Katie, seein you every day like this."

"I've been enjoying myself too, Michael."

"I can't tell you how happy I was when I saw you wander through that door. I hadn't seen you for nearly a month. I thought you'd forgotten about me."

"I've been working very hard."

"I know. It's harvest time and your father's crop needs bringin in. But it seems to me that sister of yours ought to start pullin a little more of the weight if she doesn't plan on marrin."

"Phoebe works just as hard as the rest of us."

"Maybe, but you'd think at her age she woulda settled down by now."

"I'm not married either," said Kathryn indignantly.

"No," said Michael, taking a big gulp of his whiskey. "That you're not."

"So do you think I'm an old maid as well?"

"No, Katie. I think a woman like you is different, special, and ought not to marry the first eejit that comes along. You need the right man to take care of you, or at least one that loves you properly." He took another drink of his whiskey.

"That's very sweet of you to say." She touched his hand kindly and Michael took hers in his. Suddenly he fell down on his knees.

"Katie, I may not be the right man, but I believe I love you like I should. Marry me, Katie O'Claire? Be with me every day from now on, like you have been for the last week?"

Kathryn's mouth fell open.

XXX

Chakotay yawned as he punched coordinates into the shuttle's helm control and set it on auto pilot. He'd happily undertaken the lone away mission to purchase deuterium. His duties had kept him so busy lately he'd barely had time to give his spiritual side any attention and the two weeks solitary travel time had seemed like the perfect opportunity to clear his mind. There had been a lot on it lately.

The trading had gone easily enough. The Lippanoes had been a sprite-like good natured people. The husband and wife he dealt with readily accepted his offer of power cells and Chakotay thought he'd done rather well. His encounter with them had left him slightly unsettled, however. Not that it had been unpleasant. It only added to what was already on his mind.

"Where is your mate?" was the first thing they'd asked him and they seemed startled when he said he didn't have one.

"The woman that was next to you when we contacted you was not your wife?"

"No. She's my captain and my friend but not my wife."

"Forgive us," the little man had said. "On our world, everything is done as a couple."

"Our culture is a little different," Chakotay had replied, and tried to smile, but the little trader simply shook his head. "You see, she's my superior officer." Chakotay had felt he needed to explain.

"My wife out ranks me by two degrees. I don't see where the trouble is. Don't you love her?" he said accusingly.

"Jerrian!" The trader's wife saved Chakotay the trouble of answering. "Remember what I said about dealing with aliens. We mustn't judge."

"Yes, Colonel."

As Chakotay lay back on his bunk, he mulled over the conversation. It had been significant, not for its example in cultural misinterpretation, but that it had hit so close to what was actually bothering him. Just before he under took the trip, he realized he'd been spending quite a lot of his time with Kathryn. It made sense. They were self-acknowledged best friends, the only close friend she could allow herself to have. They spent nearly all their free time together: went to parties, ate dinner, spentholodeck time...The holodeck.

Outside of her time with him, Kathryn passed a decent amount with _Michael_. Chakotay had encouraged it at first, seeing as it was the closest thing to a relationship she would allow herself, and containing the passionate side he knew was there had to be trying at times. But for the past few weeks she'd neglected the hologram more and more for Chakotay's company again. It had happened so gradually he'd hardly noticed until one night he was looking through his personal logs and saw just how much she was in them. Here he recounted a dinner they had together. There he made a note of a blend of coffee she liked so he could have it for next time. It had made him realize just how much she was always, always on his mind.

She'd been there for a long time, of course. Just when she'd entered he couldn't quite pinpoint. Before they'd been stranded on New Earth for sure. He'd found it hard to hide his elation at being thrown into quite possibly the only situation under which she might have let herself fall for him but it had ended too soon. He'd tried to let her go after that. Not that he hadn't fished, especially after she found out Mark had married, but after casting out line after ambiguous line and still coming up empty handed, he had to give up or risk becoming pathetic. The hard truth he had come to realize, however, that his love for Kathryn was not something to be got over. It wasn't even about something he needed or wanted. All he really wanted was for her to be happy. How he felt about her was simply a fact. Saying he was in love with Kathryn Janeway was like saying his uniform was red and black. He could, however, make peace with it and that was the purpose of this trip. He still had a week of travel back from the trade rendezvous. He was determined to have his head straight by then.

XXX

Janeway paced in front of Tom Paris as he patiently waited for instructions at the holodeck controls. She wasn't sure what to tell him to program at this point. She kept mulling it over, trying to figure out exactly when the hologram had got the wrong idea. Maybe they could just rewind. It was her fault it had happened, of course. He may not be a real person, but he was certainly programmed to behave that way. She felt a little guilty because she'd been using Michael to allay her loneliness. She'd missed Chakotay while he was on his away mission and Michael had filled the gap. Almost. Maybe she needed a new hobby. She could always start knitting again.

"Are you sure we can't just delete the character and set him back up with the original parameters?" asked Janeway, stepping up to Tom at the holodeck controls.

"Well," he answered. "Like I said before, since you didn't save a back up when you rewrote him, no."

"And you can't remember how you programmed him in the first place?"

"It wasn't exactly something I committed to memory. It would take me a month to reconstruct him from scratch and build all of his memories, not to mention rewriting all the other characters memory files."

Janeway frowned.

"We could probably get him back if we just rebooted the whole thing," offered Tom.

"But that would start everything over," she said. "I don't want to spoil the program for everyone else."

"It's just a holodeck program."

"No. It's more than that. Out here, morale is fragile and I'd hate to disrupt anything that keeps it together."

"Then what do you want to do?"

"I don't know," she said pacing again. "It's not as if he's real, but he seems real and his feelings seem real."

"One thing we've learned out here," said Tom, "is if you leave holograms on too long, they start thinking for themselves. Maybe he is real in a way, like the Doc."

"That doesn't mean I can marry him, though."

"Maybe you could," said Tom thoughtfully.

"Tom..."

"Well not you, but Katie O'Claire could."

"What are you saying?"

"We could build a holographic version of you; give her a farm and a family just outside of Fair Haven, and enough of your memories so the characters won't notice anything."

"Is that possible?"

"Sure," said Tom. "I can build her out of all your files on the computer. We'll just need to make a few adjustments to her program so she thinks she's an Irish farm girl."

Janeway considered for a moment.

"Let's do it."

Tom smiled and went to work, with the Captain hovering over his shoulder the entire time.

"What are you doing now?"

"Setting up her matrix from your transporter pattern."

"Are those my personal logs?"

"Yes, but I don't need to see them. The computer just needs them to compile your personality. Don't worry," he said when he saw the look on her face. "She's you, remember. She won't say or do anything you wouldn't." Janeway still looked skeptical but let him continue.

"What about clothes," she asked. "She can't wear my uniform."

"I was thinking calico," said Tom. "Hair up?"

"Perfect."

"Here she is." Katie O'Claire appeared on the holodeck. Janeway approached her and circled, taking a long look.

"She'll do, I think," she said approvingly. "What about her family?"

"I don't have any files on your real family," said Tom, "So I just adjusted preprogrammed people. Meet Mr., Mrs., and Phoebe O'Claire." Three more holographic people materialized.

"Isn't this one Michael's old wife?" asked Janeway, when she saw her 'sister.'

"Yeah," said Tom. "I just made her a little younger. Michael won't remember her though. He forgot all about her when you deleted her."

"I guess that will work." Janeway's face suddenly looked worried. "What about the crew?"

"It should be alright," said Tom. "Your files should have enough info about them for Katie to react normally enough when they come in."

"No, I mean how are they going to react to _her?_" Tom saw the problem.

"I'll tell everybody...and I'll let them all know the matter isn't open for discussion," he added.

"Thank you, Tom. Can you do one more thing?"

"Sure."

"Make the characters unaware of me." She smiled mischievously. "I want to see how things work out."

"Yes ma'am," said Tom. "Ready to send her in?"

"You bet. Care to join me?"

"Wouldn't miss it."

XXX

Janeway and Tom stepped into Fair Haven. It was morning. The sun had just come up and everything was still a little misty. Tom, who for this trip was also being ignored by the characters, climbed the hill to Katie's farm house home right behind Janeway. When they got to the top, she looked down into the valley at the crop that spread off into the distance.

"We've got a nice sized bit of land," she said. "Michael Sullivan made a good match."

"There're some small cabins a little bit over there for the help," said Tom. "If you want, I can program farm hands too. Maybe we can make one of them fall for your sister. You did steal her husband after all." Janeway and Tom chuckled and walked over to the main house to peep in the window. The O'Claire family sat around the table eating breakfast. Everyone was quiet and still a little sleepy.

"Look at her," said Janeway, pointing to Katie, who was playing with her eggs and not eating. "She's smiling to herself. She's going to say yes, but she hasn't told anyone yet."

"I think you're right," said Tom.

"Pa?" said Katie. Mr. O'Claire grunted but didn't look up from his meal. "I just remembered. I forgot to get that tonic for the horses' hooves yesterday. I need to run to town."

"You forgot!" he said looking up. "I told you that was important."

"I know pa," said Katie. "That's why I'd like to go and get it now."

"Mrs. O'Connell won't be too pleased with ya waking her up at this hour."

"Oh, she won't mind," said Katie quickly. "She owes me a favor. I'll be quick." Katie got up and grabbed her shawl as she walked out the door. Janeway wasn't entirely sure but she thought she saw Phoebe give her sister a nasty look. Katie waited until she was out of sight of the house before she broke into a run. Janeway and Tom went after her.

When Katie walked through the front door of Sullivan's, she was nearly out of breath. Poor Michael still sat in the same seat where Janeway had left him the night before with a sideways empty whiskey bottle in front of him. He was half asleep and very drunk. Katie smiled affectionately when she saw him, but Janeway felt a pang of remorse. Hopefully her holographic counterpart would cheer him up.

"Where do you keep your coffee?" said Katie brusquely, walking behind the bar and searching around. _Good for her, _thought Janeway. No mollycoddling for this man.

"I got a pot brewin already," he said quietly. "I thought I'd need it to climb that hill of yours."

"I'm glad you didn't," said Katie. "My father wouldn't have taken to you in this state." Katie found the coffee and poured two mug fulls. She came back to Michael and plunked one down in front of him.

"I usually take cream."

"I like mine black," said Katie, taking a swig. _She is me,_ thought Janeway with a snicker. Michael sighed and picked up his mug. He took a large gulp of the hot liquid and stifled a grimace. Katie took a long drink of hers with relish. Janeway enjoyed the moment. She knew who would be wearing the pants in this relationship.

"Why are ya here, Katie?" asked Michael.

"You don't know?" said Katie with a smile.

"I can only hope," he answered. "But I'd like to hear you say it."

"Say what?" asked Katie slyly.

"That you'll marry me. Will you?"

"Yes, Michael, I will."

He smiled a crooked, drunken smile and kissed her. Janeway thought she saw Katie's smile falter a little as he did so, but she assumed it was probably because Michael reeked of booze. No matter. If Katie O'Claire was half the woman Janeway suspected she was, she'd get him cleaned up. Janeway and Tom, satisfied with the happy ending, turned to go.

"Make sure I get invited to the wedding," she said, as they walked off the holodeck.

XXX

It had been a thoughtful, lonely two weeks for Chakotay and he wasn't entirely sure he'd made any progress with himself. Whatever his state of mind was, however, he was happy to get back to his own quarters and his own bed. He threw his travel bag down and went to his monitor. There were quite a few messages waiting for him. Several from Tuvok and B'Elanna. One from Tom. He'd get to them later. There was only one from Kathryn. _Dinner. My quarters. 19:00 if you get in on time. _He reproached himself for how pleased he was that it wasn't work related, but he'd missed her. He couldn't help that.

It was still very early and since Chakotay wasn't back on duty until tomorrow morning, he decided he wanted a walk. He headed for the holodeck. The Fair Haven program was running as it always was. That would do. He seemed to remember a nice sea side view just past the village. Even though he had just spent two weeks in near solitude, he still wasn't quite yet in the mood for being social.

Chakotay walked quickly through the town. The streets were a little more empty than usual and as he passed Sullivan's he saw why. Most of the citizens were there, at what seemed like a riotous party and he paused by the open door to look in on them. He saw Kathryn in the midst of the crowd dancing to a lively tune with Michael. Chakotay decided not to disturb her. She looked to be having a good time, but she spotted him and waved. He smiled and nodded but didn't come in. Michael claimed her for another dance and Chakotay slipped away while she was distracted. They'd be having dinner in a few hours and he wanted just a little more time to finally bury his feelings.

"What's the matter, Katie?" asked Michael. Her face had fallen when she saw that her dark tattooed friend had not come in. "Are you disappointed he didn't want to come to the party?"

"I guess I am," she said. "He's been away and I wanted to tell him about us."

"You two are close, aren't you?"

"Yes, we are," she answered, and then put on a smile. "But I'll be able to tell him eventually. Let's dance!"

XXX

The sun was setting into the ocean. Chakotay's walk had not been as productive as he'd liked. Instead of finishing off his feelings, he'd only succeeded in dragging them up again. He decided it was probably getting late and he ought to head back. He'd need to clean up and get dressed for dinner soon. He took one last sniff of the salty air and turned back toward Fair Haven.

The town seemed to have gone to sleep since Chakotay had first walked through. Sullivan's was quiet now, but there was a light on still. Chakotay paused when he saw Kathryn bustling around inside the now empty bar. She'd seemed happy to see him earlier. He'd go say hello. He walked up to the pub and paused in the doorway. She was humming to herself as she picked up glasses and wiped off tables.

"Go ahead and have a seat at the bar," she said, not looking up. "I'll be right with you. Oh, hello!"

"I don't need anything," he said, coming in and taking the offered seat. "I just wanted to stop and see you. Are you working here now?"

"Michael's off with the boys. I just thought I'd play bar maid for a little while."

"That was nice of you."

"He'll be in no shape to clean up when he gets back," she said, taking a load off on the stool next to Chakotay. She was sitting very close to him. "Bachelor party. No idea where Seamus led them off to, but what about you? You've been gone a while. Are you ready to get back to work?"

"I am," he answered. "All that time with nothing to do has got me a little restless."

"Idle hands and all that?"

"Exactly," he nodded. That was certainly true. A tiny devil in him had been working his mischief the entire two weeks.

"Well, now that you're back, we'll see that you stay out of trouble," she laughed and patted his arm that rested on the bar. Katie looked down at her small white hand that now coved his dark one. She'd meant the touch as a friendly one but her hand had stayed there. There was something about this man tonight that was different. He'd worked on her father's farm for years now and they'd always been close friends, but tonight it was as if she was seeing him for the first time all over again. There was something that had awoken in her that up until now, she'd been ignoring or denying but couldn't quite place why. She'd meant next to tell him about her and Michael but somehow she couldn't bring herself to do it. When she looked back up at him, he was staring very softly at her. Why had she never noticed this until _now?_

"I missed you very much while you were gone," she ended up saying, caressing his hand with her thumb. He turned his hand over and squeezed hers in return.

"I missed you too, Kathryn," he said. "More than I wanted to admit."

Normally she disliked her full name. Usually she only heard it when her father was angry at her but for some reason when her friend said it, in his deep quiet voice, it seemed less formal. She inched closer to him hesitantly, but she couldn't take her eyes off his.

"Katie!" They were interrupted by Michael Sullivan's drunken yell and a half full bottle of whiskey crashing to the ground near their feet. Chakotay looked from him to her. She had a pained expression on her face as she stared at the swaying hologram.

"I think it's best you go for now," she said to Chakotay.

"He won't hurt you, will he?" he asked.

"Oh, no. Just go. We'll talk later?"

"Of course."

XXX

Chakotay was both happy and apprehensive as he walked to Kathryn's quarters. He had wanted to punch the stupid bartender when he came in, but he was sure Kathryn wouldn't have cared for that. But if Chakotay had had only five more seconds... Whatever had happened, though, he sensed that she cared for him. He hoped that the intruding holodeck character hadn't scared her off. The next conversation would determine everything. There would be no way for her to simply ignore what had almost happened and she'd said she wanted to talk, but if she greeted him with a speech on inappropriateness... It had been an unexpected weak moment for both of them. He would let her behavior guide him. Still, he couldn't hold back the full dimpled grin when she opened her quarters' door.

"You're a little late mister," she scolded, but gave him a big smile.

"I wanted to make sure you had enough time to burn the pot roast."

"I did." She gave him a dirty look. "I'm replicating some spaghetti with marinara as we speak."

"Did you get your mess on the holodeck cleaned up?" he asked her, as he sat at the table and she poured him some red. Janeway eyed him as she served the pasta next. She assumed Tom had left him a message.

"That? Yes. I think Michael is straightened out now, but I won't be going back to Fair Haven any time soon."

"That's too bad," said Chakotay. _Good,_ he thought.

"Not really," she said, sitting down. "What happened made me realize I'd probably been spending too much time there while you were away, but enough about that. Tell me about your trip."

"There's not much to tell," he said, slightly discouraged in the abrupt change in topic. "The trade went well. I got the deuterium for the price we wanted."

"What were the Lippanoes like?"

"Very pleasant people. The couple I dealt with thought you were my wife."

"Oh really? Why would they think that?"

"On their world, married couples do everything together. That's just how it is. When they saw us sitting next to each other on the bridge, they just assumed."

"I can see how that might work for some people," said Janeway thoughtfully. Chakotay watched her as she wound her pasta on her fork. Nothing in her expression suggested she'd read anything into that. One line had come back empty. Maybe he was back where he'd started.

"Other than that," said Chakotay, "the trip was pretty quiet. I had a lot of time for thinking."

"Did you get to take any spirit walks?"

"A few."

"Good. You seemed a little stressed before you left. Did they help?"

"Some." _Not at all. _Another change in subject was needed. "Anything interesting happen while I was gone? I'll admit, the only message I read when I got back was yours. I figure I'll plow through them all tomorrow." Kathryn gave him an odd look, but dove into an account of what he'd missed. Line two empty as well.

After dinner, they sat quietly finishing the second bottle of wine. The conversation had lulled but it was not an uncomfortable silence. They both wore half smiles as they gazed glassily at each other. Chakotay looked down at Kathryn's hand, laid out on the table around the base of her glass. He took a deep breath and slid his hand to hers, intertwining their fingers. She stared at it a moment with a blank expression and then squeezed it affectionately as she moved her hand out of his grasp.

"Chakotay..." she said softly, almost pleadingly, imperceptibly shaking her head.

"You regret what happened on the holodeck," he sighed. "I'm sorry. I should have guessed when you didn't want to talk about it."

"Well, yes. I regret that, but what does that have to do with this?"

"Everything," said Chakotay, surprised. "If Michael hadn't walked in..."

"Michael?"

"Yes. When we were in Sullivan's earlier and you almost kissed me."

"Almost...I wasn't on the holodeck earlier. That little tramp!"

"Kathryn, I think there's something I'm missing here."

"There is," she said. "Come with me. I'll explain on the way."

"Where are we going?"

"The holodeck. I need to see what happened."

XXX

Chakotay frowned as they walked through the streets of Fair Haven, thinking about what Kathryn had told him and wishing he'd paid a little more attention to his whole situation was simply embarrassing. He was thankful Kathryn chose to focus on the misbehavior of her counterpart rather than the fact he'd been receptive to it. He was also thankful that no one in Fair Haven could see him. Too bad you couldn't do that for real life sometimes. He certainly felt like hiding now.

They came up on Sullivan's. The place was a mess. Katie had only half finished cleaning up when Michael had returned and by the fact she'd ceased her efforts, Kathryn could assume the couple's conversation had not gone well. Michael was sitting crookedly and taking shots of whiskey. His face hardened as he slammed his glass on the table. He got up and walked out of the pub. Janeway and Chakotay followed him.

After a long walk around the hill, Michael came up on one of the farmhand's cabins and pounded on the door. The cabin stayed dark, however, and Michael continued to pound. Kathryn thought she saw a figure dart behind a tree up by the house.

"Charles McKotay!" yelled Michael. "If you're in there, wake up. I want to talk to you." No answer. He banged again. "I don't know how they do things where you come from, but here, when someone tries to steal your woman, you fight for her! One round, bare knuckle, if you're man enough." Michael banged on the door one last time then tried to peek in the window. When he was finally convinced no one was there, he stumbled drunkenly off, back towards town. Janeway and Chakotay made a move to follow when Janeway saw the other person come out from behind the tree. It was Katie. She looked over her shoulder to make sure Michael didn't turn back around as she quietly crept down the hill to the small house.

"Charles?" she said, as she tapped on the door. "Are you there? You promised to talk to me." Katie waited a moment, tears hovering in her eyes. She wiped away one that had escaped and walked sadly back to the house.

"I feel bad for her," said Janeway. "How do we clean this up?"

"What if we let me fight him?" said Chakotay. Janeway looked at him puzzled."Well not me, Charles McKotay."

XXX

Tom stood at the holodeck controls again, this time in his pajamas with one eye open. Janeway had felt badly about waking him up, since he did have the early shift in the morning but she and Chakotay thought it would be best to get the situation resolved as quickly as possible. The command team stood on either side of Tom, firing off parameters, while he worked.

"The holodeck should have recorded what happened between Chakotay and Katie before, right, so Charles will remember Michael barging in?" asked Janeway. Tom just grunted sleepily.

"I'm pretty sure my boxing stats are in my files," said Chakotay. "You can get the rules off of my boxing program."

"Should he win or lose?" asked Janeway.

"Let's have him lose," said Chakotay.

"And let's say he was off buying passage to the Americas," she added. "Then he can leave after it's over. Did you get all that Tom?"

"Americas, right," muttered Tom as he worked.

"And have Katie avoid him from now on," Janeway said.

"He should avoid her too," added Chakotay. "Make sure he has lots of work to do on the farm."

"You could have Phoebe fall for him," suggested Janeway, bringing up Phoebe O'Claire on the monitor.

"She isn't exactly his type," said Chakotay smiling. "Maybe you could have him..." but Chakotay didn't finish because Tom had hit the enter button. Janeway and Chakotay stared after him as he nearly sleep walked off the holodeck.

"Was he finished?" she asked.

"Looks like Charles is up and running."

"Well, let's go see what we've got."

XXX

When they found Charles, he was walking back to his cabin from the direction of the sea. He had his head down, hands in his pockets, and seemed thoughtful. He looked up toward the main house. There was still a light burning in one of the windows. Charles paused and seemed to consider heading towards it but instead turned towards home. They heard a door shut up on the hill. Charles turned back and saw Katie coming down from the house. His expression hardened but he waited for her.

"I thought they were going to avoid each other," said Janeway.

"Who knows how much Tom actually heard," replied Chakotay. "He doesn't look happy, though. Maybe this will be the end of it."

"Charles!"

"Hello, again," he said quietly.

"You said you'd talk to me."

"I heard something interesting in town tonight. You and Michael Sullivan, engaged? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to, but..."

"Instead you'd let me think..." He stopped himself and looked away from her.

"You know that's impossible. You work for my father."

"I won't be much longer."

"What do you mean?" She took a step closer to him.

"Just that."

"Did you talk to Michael while you were in town?"

"No."

"He came here tonight looking for you. He wants to fight you."

"I'm not surprised."

"Are you going to?"

"I don't know. I'll go talk to him in the morning."

"What will you say?"

"The truth. That there's nothing between us." Janeway thought Charles sounded a little bitter. What the hell had Tom been programming? Katie said nothing.

"Don't look so shocked, Katie," he said. "You've made your choice. I intend to abide by it." He turned away from her and went into the house. Katie stood where she was, confusion clearly marking her face. At last, she too turned towards home.

"I can't tell if we've made things better or worse," said Janeway. "Let's get out of here."

"Agreed," said Chakotay. Charles' reaction to Katie made him a little uncomfortable. He wondered if Kathryn realized how close to home it had actually hit. As they passed the main house they noticed Phoebe had come out to greet her sister.

"I saw you talking to Charles," said Phoebe, scathingly.

"So what?" replied Katie. "He's my friend. I can talk to him if I want."

"Outside his house at one in the morning? Is it true what they're saying about you all over town?"

"What are they saying?"

"That Michael walked in on you in Charles' arms at Sullivan's."

"We were talking. That's all. I was never _in his arms._" Katie made a move to push past her sister and go into the house. Phoebe didn't let her through.

"Don't you love Michael?" she asked.

"Of course I do."

"You got a funny way of showing it." Katie's look turned into a glare and Phoebe was finally intimidated out of the doorway by her much shorter sister. Katie flounced into the house.

"I think things are worse," said Janeway.

XXX

Kathryn sat up abruptly in bed when her alarm went off at 05:00. She'd have time for a quick peek at the holodeck before she was due on the bridge. When she stepped into Fair Haven she wasn't sure who to check in on. She spotted Charles McKotay walking toward town. Ok. Him first. As she came up to him on the street she got a good long look at him, something that hadn't been possible in the dark.

Charles certainly looked like Chakotay. Tom had left his tattoo intact but there were differences. Charles had let his hair grow out a little longer, his skin was more leathery from being in the sun, and he had his blue cotton shirt unbuttoned slightly lower than Chakotay's shirts ever went. Just that extra inch of skin she'd never seen before made Kathryn's mind wander a little. No wonder Katie had fallen for him. Charles stopped when he reached Sullivan's. The door was open and he went in. Michael was in his usual place getting drunk.

"I heard you wanted to see me," said Charles. Michael looked up at him groggily.

"You been talking to my Katie?"

"Yes, I have."

"You can't have her."

"I hear she's engaged to you, so you have nothing to worry about."

"But I saw the two of you," said Michael standing up on his wobbly legs and stepping up to Charles. "In me own pub. What was going on then?"

"Nothing." Charles didn't back down. "I admit, I may have mistaken a friendly welcome home for more than it was, but Katie and I are clear on that now." Michael looked dubious.

"It's not just that," he said, as he fell back sadly in his chair. "I've seen her look at ya that way before. All the time really."

"What are you talking about?" said Kathryn momentarily forgetting they couldn't hear her.

"I don't know about that," said Charles. "But why would she marry you if she has feelings for me?"

"Don't ask me to explain anything women do," replied Michael. "I don't understand them. All I know is I love this one."

"Then I wish you all the best," said Charles, and turned to go.

"Wait," said Michael. "I'll fight you for her. The winner of one round takes all."

"She's not an object, Michael," he said indignantly. "You can't just gamble her off."

Michael looked uncomfortable at that.

"But I can't just let another man swoop in and take her from me. C'mon. One round right now. We'll finish it." Michael stood again, stumbling and drunkenly trying to roll up his sleeves. Charles looked at him thoughtfully.

"Alright," he said finally. "I'll fight you. But not now. I need to get back to the farm. This evening. Six o'clock."

"We'll meet here."

Charles nodded and extended his hand to Michael who shook it. He walked out of the pub and Kathryn followed him all the way to the O'Claire farm. Katie and the rest of the family waited for him at the bottom of the hill.

"Where ya been, Charles?" asked Mr. O'Claire. "If ya woulda been any later I woulda had to dock some of your pay."

"I just had some quick business in town. It's done now."

"That's a good thing," said Mr. O'Claire as he walked off towards the fields. Katie went over to Charles has he made a move to follow. They stopped and faced each other only a few inches apart. His expression was unreadable as she handed him his hat and his farm tools. Her face was questioning. He stared down at her for a few more seconds before he spoke.

"Talked to Michael this morning."

"What did he say?"

"Fight's at six tonight, if you want to come."

"Oh, Charles. I didn't think you'd do it. Be careful. Michael is reckless when he's drunk."

"I'm hoping he'll have sobered up by then, but I'm a good boxer." Charles turned and walked quickly to catch up with the others.

BEEP. _Damn._ It was time for Janeway to report to the bridge.

XXX

"The fight's at 18:00," said Janeway quietly to Chakotay, who sat next to her on the bridge. Neither of them looked up from their monitors as they worked.

"I'll be there."

XXX

The whole town had shown up for the fight. An area had been cleared in the middle of Sullivan's for a makeshift ring. There were people smashed up against each other around the edges of the pub and crowded at the windows. Chakotay and Janeway were glad they could just walk through the holograms as they pleased or else they might never have gotten seats. Janeway looked around and saw Katie and Phoebe near the bar. Katie looked resolute but Kathryn knew herself well enough to see the anxiety barely visible in her eyes. Phoebe looked on the scene with disgust.

Charles and Michael stepped up to opposite corners of the 'ring.' People cheered and booed and waived money here and there. Michael was obviously nursing a wicked hangover but appeared sober. Charles was a little dirty from his work on the farm.

"Maybe you should think about growing your hair out," said Kathryn to Chakotay. "That length is still regulation."

"Shows more of the grey," he replied, smiling.

"I like the salt and pepper look."

Chakotay mentally moved the date for his next haircut to a few weeks later.

Seamus walked into the middle of the ring and the two fighters stepped up to face each other. Seamus cleared his throat to announce the specifications of the match.

"The rules stand thus: one round, bare knuckle, with all the provisions that pertain to sportsmanlike conduct, if ya can call bloodyin another man's face with your naked fist sportsmanlike. The round is over when one man is incapacitated, knocked out, or killed."

Several members of the crowd gasped with the proper amount of shock and Kathryn hoped she wouldn't be attending a holofuneral next. This whole program had gotten out of hand enough.

"Shake hands and come out fightin!"

The two men circled around each other with their fists in the air. Michael threw the first punch. Charles blocked and nailed Michael in the face before he had time to recover. Janeway wondered at the satisfied expression both Charles and Chakotay wore. Charles took a blow to the body then delivered a one-two punch that sent Michael reeling. He took a quick walk around the ring while his opponent regained his footing. Michael came at Charles in earnest now and began landing more blows to Charles' face.

"He's letting him in," said Chakotay. "Look, Charles is dropping his defenses here and there so that Michael can get a hit in. He's going to throw the fight."

"You think?" asked Janeway.

"I _know._"

They turned back to the match, Chakotay following each movement closely and Janeway trying to see what he did. When it happened, it was obvious Chakotay had been right. Just as Michael pulled back his right arm for a massive blow, Charles dropped his left. Michael swung and nailed Charles above they eye, breaking open his eyebrow and sending him sprawling to the floor. The crowd was hushed but Charles didn't get up. Janeway looked over at Katie who had her hand on her mouth and looked like she was about to cry. She darted to go to Charles, but Phoebe held her back. After a moment, Seamus walked into the ring and raised Michael's arm in the air.

"We have a winner!"

Michael looked triumphantly to Katie but when he saw the expression on her face and who it was for, his exaltation faded to nothing. He walked over to her at the bar. In the background, Charles slowly got to his feet, shaking his head, and crept out the front door.

"You won!" said Katie, forcing a smile when she saw Michael coming towards her.

"No, I don't think I did," he replied.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw your face when Charles was lying on the ground. It was your heart I really wanted to win. This fight means nothin if I lost that. Go to him, Katie. I love you too much to tie you down."

Katie stared at Michael in surprise.

"Thank you," she said, kissing him quickly on the cheek then pushing her way through the crowd and out the door. Michael sat down at the bar and hung his head.

"I've got a truly wicked sister," said Phoebe, as she came up to Michael and laid a comforting hand on his cheek, "but I hope you won't think poorly of all of the O'Claire clan."

_Well that fixes that, _thought Janeway as she watched Phoebe move in on her sister's ex-fiancé. Chakotay nudged her and they both headed for the door.

XXX

Katie finally found Charles at the cliff overlooking the sea with Chakotay and Janeway right behind her.

"You've been coming here a lot lately," she said to Charles, when she finally stood next to him.

"I've been thinking about the sea quite a bit, and other things."

Charles turned to look at Katie. She pulled out a handkerchief and started cleaning up his bleeding eyebrow.

"Why did you throw the fight?" she asked.

"You could tell?"

"Yes. Why did you do it?"

"Because the fight was for him, not for you."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't take anything from another man. Especially his pride."

"And you wouldn't take me either?"

"You don't _belong_ to either of us. Where ever you go is entirely up to you."

"What if I want to belong to someone?"

"Michael?"

"No. He's released me from my promise." She stepped a little closer to him.

"I don't want to possess you, Kathryn, but I'd always hoped you belonged _with _me."

"I believe I do," she said. He smiled and leaned down to kiss her. Janeway and Chakotay couldn't look at each other.

"I've always loved you," Charles said, when they broke apart and walked hand in hand back towards town. "Even back when I was only a drifter and you convinced your father to take me on full time."

"I loved you then too," she said, "but I was afraid. Until now, I hadn't realized how much I'd used my father as an excuse to not take a chance with you."

"I knew that. I was trying to be patient; let you come around on your own."

"He's not going to be very pleased. The whole town, in fact, probably won't be very pleased," said Katie sadly.

"Let's forget about them," said Charles. "Did you know what I was doing on my time away?"

"You weren't buying supplies?"

"I was, but I also was booking passage on a ship...to the Americas."

"You're finally going home!" She looked both happy for him and devastated at the same time.

"I booked passage for two, just in case."

"You were going to ask me to come?"

"I was. I decided it was time to go, Kathryn. I couldn't ignore my feelings for you any longer and I didn't think you'd ever admit yours for me with your father in the way. It was either you come with me or I move on. So what do you think? I leave for the ship tomorrow morning. Help me find my way home?"

Katie smiled.

"Yes, Charles. I'll make sure you get there." But her face fell. "But we can't travel _together_ all that way. We're not married!"

Charles grinned with just as much dimple as Chakotay often showed.

"That can be easily fixed," he said, grabbing Katie's hand and dragging her off at a run. Janeway and Chakotay ran after them. Janeway quickly tapped her combadge.

"Captain to the Doctor. You're needed on the holodeck."

"Is there an emergency, Captain?" said the concerned voice of the Doctor over the com.

"Of sorts. Transfer yourself to the church in Fair Haven and make sure you're wearing your priest's robes."

When the Doctor finally opened up the church doors it was to Katie and Charles in a most unconservative lip lock and his look of shock was very genuine. Katie and Charles did very little to improve their reputation by giggling like teenagers when they realized they were caught. The Doctor was even more confused when he saw Janeway and Chakotay standing right behind them. Janeway put her fingers to her lips to shush the Doctor's exclamation.

"They can't see or hear us," she said. "Do whatever they say and do not breathe a word of this to any of the crew." The Doctor nodded quickly and turned to Katie and Charles.

"Yes, what can I do for you, uh, uh," he faltered.

"Katie O'Claire and Charles McKotay," filled in Chakotay.

"Miss O'Claire, Mr. McKotay."

"We need to be married right away, Father," said Charles.

The Doctor looked toward Janeway questioningly. She held out her hand to signal for him to go for it.

"Um, yes, right this way," he stuttered as he led them into the church.

Janeway and Chakotay both sighed. They glanced at each other quickly but neither seemed to want to comment on what had just happened so neither said anything as they left the holodeck.

XXX

Tom grabbed his tray of Neelix's latest invention and looked around the mess hall for a table. Janeway was sitting towards the back having a cup of coffee and reading a padd. Curious about how the new Fair Haven characters had worked out, he decided to have a seat next to her.

"You're brave," she said, when she looked at Tom's tray. "What is that?"

"Not brave," replied Tom. "Bad at Velocity. No replicator rations for a month. I think Neelix said it was leola root al forno."

"I'll pass. You'll be happy to hear our little fiasco on the holodeck is settled."

"Oh, yeah? How'd the boxing match go? Is there a surly beat up bartender I need to warn everybody about?"

"Surly, maybe but Charles threw the fight."

"So Katie ended up with Michael?"

"Actually he let her go when he saw she was in love with Charles."

"Really?"

"They eloped and ran off to the America's this morning."

"That's got to be a relief for you and Chakotay, not having to worry about what your holographic counterparts are doing."

"Not exactly what we told you to program, but as it turned out for the best…"

"I didn't program any of that," said Tom.

"What do you mean?"

"Captain, I was half asleep. All I programmed was that Charles was off buying passage. Everything else was based on logs. Whatever the characters did, they did themselves."

XXX

Chakotay sat in his living area, going over a pile of reports. His door chimed.

"Come." That would be Kathryn for dinner. The last few days had been incredibly awkward for both of them but he'd invited her to dinner anyway. He was determined to get their friendship back on track and he felt the longer he waited the harder that would be.

"You showed up just in time," said Chakotay when she came in. "Two seconds later and I might have been physically buried in this pile of padds. Probably should have read a few of them right when I got back."

"Probably." Kathryn had smiled when she said it but he could tell she still felt uncomfortable. She sat down at the table and Chakotay served the food. They were quiet. Once he took his seat he decided that they would get nowhere unless they talked about it.

"Are you going to tell me what's bothering you?"

Kathryn stared down at her plate for a moment, not eating.

"Do you love me?" she blurted out finally. Chakotay was surprised at her question but knew the only way this conversation would be productive was with complete frankness.

"Of course I do. I told you once, remember?"

"Still? Since then?" It had been over four years since they'd been on New Earth and he'd told her the 'ancient legend.'

"Yes, Kathryn. It's always been with me."

She looked at him sadly.

"I can't help how I feel," he continued, "but it doesn't follow that I'm going to do anything about it. I'm content to be your friend if that's all you want."

"It's not about what I _want_." Chakotay sat up a little straighter. He'd never expected that.

"So you…"

"Of course I do," she said. "It took me seeing it from an outside perspective to realize but…"

"It's ok," he replied, sliding his fingers into hers again. This time she didn't move away. "You don't have to say it out loud." She squeezed her hand tighter into his.

"Do you think we're as obvious as they were?" she asked. "Even when they were fighting you could tell."

"They didn't have a rigid command structure holding them back."

"So what do we do?"

"Be patient, like Charles was trying to be. Maybe someday we'll finally get off the O'Claire farm." They gazed at each other for a long time until their hands broke a part and they went quietly to their meal.

"Just for future reference," said Kathryn with a small smirk on her face. "I'm not quite the prude Katie O'Claire was."

Chakotay nearly spit out the drink of wine he'd just taken.

"I look forward to finding out."


End file.
